Grounded fishing boat on North Bay beach to be destroyed, once rotting squid is offloaded

The grounded 58-foot fishing boat Lake Bay on North Beach at Point Reyes National Seashore will be dismantled after salvagers remove between 30 and 50 tons of rotting squid trapped in a catch tank beneath the main deck. The vessel ran aground on Aug. 22 after being pulled out of the surf zone by bulldozers—a process that took five days. On Wednesday, workers in white hazmat suits used a small orange backhoe to load the congealed catch into secure containers for off-site disposal, according to National Park Service spokesman Joshua Winchell. After the squid is cleared, salvagers will move the boat higher up the beach and dismantle it for transport out of the park. Diesel tanks were emptied of 1,400 gallons. With Coast Guard concurrence, authorities determined refloating wasn’t advisable due to seaworthiness concerns and possible hull breach risk.